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New Facility in San Francisco’s SoMa District To Provide Expanded Casual Games Development

March 14, 2006

3 Min Read

[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Game Developer and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press]

Author: PopCap Games

SEATTLE, Washington - March 14, 2006 - PopCap GamesTM, the leading developer and publisher of casual games, today announced the opening of a new game development studio in San Francisco, California, to complement the company's existing game development facilities in Dublin, Ireland and its Seattle, Washington headquarters. The new San Francisco studio will serve as a regional hub for PopCap's growing game design and development activities, tapping the wealth of software engineering and artistic talent found in the area. Dave Rohrl, former Senior Producer at pogo.com, Electronic Arts' casual games service, will serve as general manager of the new PopCap San Francisco studio. More information on PopCap can be found at www.popcap.com.

"We're excited to be opening our latest design and development studio in the long-time heart of the game industry's stomping grounds, and are already tapping the tremendous talent base in the area to staff the new facility," stated David Roberts, CEO of PopCap. "And we're very pleased to have Dave Rohrl, an established industry veteran and very active member of the casual games development community, overseeing the new studio. Dave's vision and management style are very much in line with PopCap's, and we expect great things from the San Francisco team."

PopCap's ongoing expansion in all areas of its business is reflected in the establishment of the new San Francisco studio as well as the recent opening of a new international headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. The San Francisco studio will focus on all stages of game development from concept to launch, and is expected to grow from 5 initial staffers to approximately 15 in the coming months. San Francisco Bay Area-based professionals in all aspects of game design and development are encouraged to submit employment information and inquiries via PopCap's website (www.popcap.com). PopCap's workforce, which has grown from three to more than 45 employees since the company's founding in 2000, is expected to expand to more than 70 over the next twelve months.

Dave Rohrl, general manager of the new San Francisco studio, joined PopCap Games in late 2005 after spending more than five years as a senior producer and designer for Pogo.com, Electronic Arts' proprietary casual games service. From late 2002 to mid-2005, Mr. Rohrl conceived and launched Pogo.com's downloadable games channel, for which he also managed content selection and game development. Mr. Rohrl is an industry veteran with more than a dozen years of experience in professional game development.

The casual games industry is the fastest-growing sector of the interactive entertainment industry, with enormous growth projected in 2006 and beyond. The broad appeal of casual games across new platforms such as mobile phones as well as traditional PCs and videogame consoles is drawing new audiences to gaming above and beyond the traditional "hardcore" game player. Industry research firm estimates vary, but even conservative projections see the sector growing to more than $1 billion in 2006, with some estimates as high as $5 billion by 2009. PopCap is far and away the leader in the space, developing and publishing more hit games than any other casual games firm and attracting more than 175 million downloads of its games in the past five years.

About PopCap

PopCap Games (www.popcap.com) is the leading provider of casual games in the world. Based in Seattle, Washington, PopCap was founded in 2000 by three friends from the online games industry, and has grown tremendously in the past five years. PopCap's games have been downloaded more than 175 million times, and its flagship title Bejeweled has sold more than 5 million units across all major platforms. PopCap games are available for Web, PC and Mac, videogame consoles, cell-phones, PDAs and other mobile devices, in-flight on leading airlines, and more.

PR Contact:

Garth Chouteau

[email protected]

415-602-8147

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